Healthy Hint: Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

image via Campbell's Kitchen

I have signed up for a bunch of e-newsletters that get sent to me almost daily by cooking websites.  Most of the time they have at least one or two recipes in them that I think might be worth making and I file it away in my "recipes" folder in my e-mail account ... and never look at them again.  Effective, right?

Anyway, I found this recipe in one of said newsletters from Campbell's Kitchen, and after realizing I had all the ingredients at hand, I decided to give it a try.  It took me a few days to find a good night to make it but I finally did last night and I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  I'd never cooked quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") before - save for a microwavable package I got from Costco that lacked a lot of flavor - so things were a little rocky, but my husband stepped in and helped and we finally got it looking a lot like the picture above, which never happens.  So here it is!

Chicken with Peas and Quinoa

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders (I just cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (I just used regular paprika)
1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
1 jar (24 ounces) Prego Veggie Smart Smooth and Simple Italian Sauce (your favorite red pasta sauce will do)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed (I used an entire 16 ounce package and thought that worked well ... but make sure it is thawed completely!)

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well-browned on both sides.  Remove the chicken from the skillet, cover, and keep warm.

2. Add the paprika and quinoa to the skillet and stir to coat.  Stir in the broth and sauce and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender.*  Stir in the peas.  Return the chicken to the skillet.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through.

* You basically need to keep it simmering/boiling for at least 15 minutes.  The quinoa should be transparent when it is "tender" and you should be able to see a little white ring inside it.  That is how you'll know it's done.

My husband and I both decided that the paprika gets pretty lost in the tomato sauce, so if you don't have that it's probably not a big deal.  Next time I make this, I will probably leave it out, and then highlight some of the Italian seasonings already present in the sauce.

The nutrition facts for this dish are on the recipe's website page, but I will tell you that - as prepared exactly like the above recipe - it is pretty great for you!  Lots of fiber and protein, plus the added nutritional benefits of vitamins A and C and iron.

Check it out for yourself!  And have a wonderful day!